Hey guys

During the summer of 2008 I developed a cause of eye strain caused by constantly surfing the internet and gaming. This lasted the entire summer. I got headaches after about 1-2 hours of surfing the internet. The issue resolved itself when I started college and had to go to class every day.

In early 2009 I dropped out of college. I did some jobs here and there but I knew I would go to college again in september so I never really searched for a full time job. A month later the computer vision syndrome returned. After a few month I got a headache after spending less than 30 minutes on my computer! Somewhere during these dreadfull fays, I discovered that I did not have any issues using my pc when it was dark outside. This was amazing, and I kept up late every day so I could still game and surf on the internet.
I went to an eye doctor but she did not notice anything bad about my eyes but described me some eye drops and magnifying (+ 0.5) glasses. Neither seemed to really help. Also, watching TV did not pose any problems, neither did reading a book.

Anayway, when I went to college again in late 2009 my eye issues resolved itself. I remember spending lots of time on LOTRO in the summer of 2011 without any issues.

Fast forward to last year, 2013. I had an internship in may and june. Due to lots of time spent on the PC on my internship and playing Total War, my eye problems returned. I had some hard weeks in june, but eventually the problems disappeared because I drastically reduced my time spent on the computers.
Suddenly, in the beginning of august I got a headache after surfing on the internet with my Iphone. Since then, I still suffer from eye strain...

Again, I did not have any problems once it got dark outside. But some things were different: Watching TV also strained my eyes just like using my Iphone did.
Somewhere in november I consulted an eye doctor and she concluded I have a slight case of astigmatism. She prescribed me glasses to resolve this. And I have to say, they do help!

Everything is much sharper using these glasses. BUT, the problem has not been solved. I still get headaches from watching any screen, but when I wear my glasses the pain is not as bad.

I'm in my last year of university so I really am desperate. I'm studying management and will have to spend lots of time behind a PC in one year when I graduate. I'm really interested in management and business but I'm terrified by spending entire days with a terrible headache...

Does anyone recognise this? Can someone help me?

Yes i recognize the issue. It could be stress related, sleep related, even medication or nutrition related. Dry eyes is a very probable culprit is such a case.

Dry eyes. You probably have dry eyes. Yes, your dry eyes may only come into effect in front of the computer, but that's how it usually starts. If you want to start alleviating your symptoms you may have to start using artificial tears. After you've tested them and if they don't work, you can stop using them and you'll be none the wiser. But do try them, they could really help you. There are many on the market, and some drops meant for contact lens wearers may be too weak for you.

There are some drops which come in vials and don't have preservatives, but there are also better and worse preservatives among bottled drops which do have them. For long term use you should start looking into those. Also be careful not to use "red out" drops like Visine. They will only make your eyes progressively worse. And stay the hell away from antibiotics.

You could try to get the most comfortable screen you can find. And yes, there are screens which are better for the eyes than others. A very important parameter to look for in a monitor is the lack of PWM flicker, another is native 8bit color without dithering. Others can be the lack of glare and sharp resolution. Here is a link that lists flicker free monitors (some may be imperfect still) http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/flicker_free_database.htm     "Affordable" monitors that I know of without both dithering and flicker are HP ZR2740W and Dell U2713HM

Lighting. What is your ambient artificial light? You should stop using flourescents or LEDs for starters. LEDs are better in some cases than CFLs (flourescents) but they're not safe. If they're the kind that flicker they're the worst in the world. Incadescents are the best, and even if you can't find the classic bulbs, you can get the new "eco classic" halogen bulbs like the Philips Eco Classic or the Osram Classic Eco (lol). IMO they're the best bulbs in todays anti-incandescent market. Best for your eyes for sure.

Some tips:

-Wash your eyes. Soak them in water, then slowly try to open them without blinking too much.

-Put an ambient light behind your monitor. Something like a small table lamp in which you put one of those bulbs we talked about.

-Do a Schirmer eye test. This will test the severity of your dry eye condition. It's a plus if you can do the test in front of a monitor.

-The glasses probably help you because they trap moisture in front of your eyes.

-You could get a humidifier. Heating can make the environment very hostile to dry eyes sufferers. As first aid you could put a wet towel over the radiators, or a pot filled with water.

-olive oil, fish oil or Omega 3 capsules should be part of your diet, and supplements with Lutein and Zeaxanthin are worth at least a try

-If you're using any medication, check to see if they cause dry eyes.

-Lower the temperature of the displays. Meaning make them yellowish. Something like a WARM setting, or 3100K or simply tinting the display a yellow color.

-Don't be obsessed too much about this.

-Listen to music, audio books and radio shows to rest your eyes.

-Blink. You need to keep special attention to blinking while being concentrated in front of a monitor.

LemonSlice said:

Yes i recognize the issue. It could be stress related, sleep related, even medication or nutrition related. Dry eyes is a very probable culprit is such a case.

Dry eyes. You probably have dry eyes. Yes, your dry eyes may only come into effect in front of the computer, but that's how it usually starts. If you want to start alleviating your symptoms you may have to start using artificial tears. After you've tested them and if they don't work, you can stop using them and you'll be none the wiser. But do try them, they could really help you. There are many on the market, and some drops meant for contact lens wearers may be too weak for you.

There are some drops which come in vials and don't have preservatives, but there are also better and worse preservatives among bottled drops which do have them. For long term use you should start looking into those. Also be careful not to use "red out" drops like Visine. They will only make your eyes progressively worse. And stay the hell away from antibiotics.

Well, back in 2009, eye drops did not help at all. But like I said in my first post, my condition has changed, so they might help this time. I'll get some drops next week.

You could try to get the most comfortable screen you can find. And yes, there are screens which are better for the eyes than others. A very important parameter to look for in a monitor is the lack of PWM flicker, another is native 8bit color without dithering. Others can be the lack of glare and sharp resolution. Here is a link that lists flicker free monitors (some may be imperfect still) http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/flicker_free_database.htm     "Affordable" monitors that I know of without both dithering and flicker are HP ZR2740W and Dell U2713HM

Unfortunately, as a student, I don't have the budget for this and I don't know if my parents will agree if it isn't 100 % sure this will cure my symptoms.

Lighting. What is your ambient artificial light? You should stop using flourescents or LEDs for starters. LEDs are better in some cases than CFLs (flourescents) but they're not safe. If they're the kind that flicker they're the worst in the world. Incadescents are the best, and even if you can't find the classic bulbs, you can get the new "eco classic" halogen bulbs like the Philips Eco Classic or the Osram Classic Eco (lol). IMO they're the best bulbs in todays anti-incandescent market. Best for your eyes for sure.

Artificial lights don't cause any issues for me, so this doesn't seem to be part of the problem. Only natural sunlight causes issues.

Some tips:

-Wash your eyes. Soak them in water, then slowly try to open them without blinking too much.

What's this for? To moisture my eyes?

-Put an ambient light behind your monitor. Something like a small table lamp in which you put one of those bulbs we talked about.

Already doing this. Again, artificial light is not an enemy here.

-Do a Schirmer eye test. This will test the severity of your dry eye condition. It's a plus if you can do the test in front of a monitor.

How can I do this? With my eye docter?

-The glasses probably help you because they trap moisture in front of your eyes. You should try reading glasses though, even if a + diopter isn't in your prescription. Get one of those 10EUR +0.5 or maybe +0.75 diopter reading glasses and see if they help.

That's entirely possible, but wearing these glasses really make everything sharper. They really do help, even reading a book with these glasses on is less tiring.

-You could get a humidifier. Heating can make the environment very hostile to dry eyes sufferers. As first aid you could put a wet towel over the radiators, or a pot filled with water.

Will check this out! Now that winter is coming, I'll use a towel to check the effect.

-olive oil, fish oil or Omega 3 capsules should be part of your diet, and supplements with Lutein and Zeaxanthin are worth at least a try

I already take a multivitamin daily, but that's not optimal in this case?

-If you're using any medication, check to see if they cause dry eyes.

Only a multivitamin! :)

-Lower the temperature of the displays. Meaning make them yellowish. Something like a WARM setting, or 3100K or simply tinting the display a yellow color.

I use F;Lux during the evening, exactly for this. But you mean it also helps during the day?

-Don't be obsessed too much about this.

It's hard not do :( but I limit my PC usage during the day and that really helps.

-Listen to music, audio books and radio shows to rest your eyes.

I'm already doing this more and more, my lifestyle has changed quite a bit in one year. I don't watch any new tv shows, although I do watch new episodes of old shows .

-Blink. You need to keep special attention to blinking while being concentrated in front of a monitor.

Yeah, this is really hard to do. Thanks for all your tips!

Beware that total darkness and so excessive contrast with the environment is bad too, the ideal to minimize eye strain from active screens (active meaning emitting light, not reflecting it, cinemas haven't this problem) is that the environment around be very dimly lit with diffused light (doctors eventually found that watching TV in the darkness doesn't damage sight as previously believed, but they confirmed it causes fatigue, strain).

There even are specialized lights for this purpose, like this http://www.beghelli.it/it/ita/prodotti.asp?idProd=7827 (couldn't find a page with a description in English)  and IIRC I also saw TVs with that kind of environment lighting built-in.